EcoSanté Lifestyle Intervention: Encourage Reflections on the Connections between Health and Environment

Abstract

EcoSanté is a mobile lifestyle intervention that encourages individual behavior change while also helping participants understand the deep connections between daily lifestyle choices and our collective impact on the planet. Informed by research on “small” intervention approaches, we sent participants daily behavioral challenges that demonstrated connections between personal health and environmental impact at large. Through a 20-day mobile intervention study, 139 participants uploaded 1,920 submissions documenting their attempts to engage in these challenges. We found that participants’ self-reported healthy eating behavior and general self-efficacy improved significantly immediately after the intervention. Moreover, 30 days after the intervention, participants’ self-reported eating, exercise, and general self-efficacy all significantly improved compared to the beginning of the study. Participants had a more negative reaction when being asked to come up with their own challenges. Based on quantitative and qualitative findings, we provide implications for future researcher on mobile behavior intervention research.